MOAB, Utah (WWSB/Gray News ) – A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Gabby Petito’s family against the city of Moab and its police department, citing a nearly 60-year-old Utah state statute.

Nichole Schmidt, Gabby Petito’s mother, filed the lawsuit in a Utah district court in November 2022, saying police failed to protect her daughter who was killed by her fiancé weeks after an encounter with law enforcement.

Two years later, Utah’s 7th District Court Judge Don Torgerson sided with the city of Moab in its motion to dismiss the lawsuit, citing current state law.

Petito was killed by her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, during a road trip in 2021, according to authorities.

Laundrie returned home to his family in North Port, Florida in Petito’s van. He then disappeared, leading to a week-long manhunt by the FBI.

Laundrie admitted to the murder in a suicide note found next to his remains on the Myakkahatchee Creek Reservation.

In the weeks before Petito’s murder, body camera footage from a traffic stop in Moab raised eyebrows. Officers in the small Utah town had received a report of a domestic violence incident and stopped Petito and Laundrie. She was seen crying and had visible scratch marks on her body.

The events were captured on officers’ body cameras as they questioned the couple after a witness reported them fighting earlier in the day. Petito admitted to hitting Laundrie, but officers declined to make an arrest. The two were separated for the evening and then allowed to continue their cross-country road trip the next day.

The the judge said he had no choice but to dismiss Petito’s family’s lawsuit based on state immunity laws that protect certain employees from lawsuits.

The family’s argument was that the failure of law enforcement to protect Petito directly led to her murder.

Torgerson said it likely wasn’t the only cause of the crime, though he agreed with the Petito family that the investigation was flawed.

City attorneys argued the homicide occurred 38 days after the altercation that Moab police responded to. They also passed the Utah Governmental Immunity Act of 1965, which protected the city from being sued.

Lawyers for the Petito family plan to explore other possibilities, indicating that despite a dismissal, they will continue to fight Moab police.

A statement released on behalf of Petito’s mother from law firm Parker + McConkie said:

“While today’s ruling may feel like a setback, it was not unexpected. We never anticipated that this would be an easy process, and we look forward to the Utah Supreme Court upholding the original intent of the Utah Constitution to preserve the right to recover for wrongful death claims under these circumstances. We remain committed to justice for Gabby and thank the many people who have continued to support us in this fight.”

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